Your doctor will first ask you about your health history and your family's health history, and perform a physical exam.
The following tests and procedures may be used to diagnose primary biliary cirrhosis.
- Blood tests to check liver function. Liver function tests check the levels of enzymes that may indicate liver disease in general and bile duct injury in particular.
- Blood tests to check for signs of autoimmune disease. An analysis of your blood may reveal anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMAs). These antibodies almost never occur in people who don't have the disease, even if they have other liver disorders. Therefore, a positive AMA test is considered a very reliable indicator of the disease. However, a small percentage of people with primary biliary cirrhosis don't have AMAs.
- Ultrasound. Ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of structures inside your body.
- Computerized tomography (CT scan). You may have a CT scan — a special X-ray technique that provides much more information than a standard X-ray does.
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI scanner uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create detailed images of organs and tissues. Unlike CT, there is no radiation exposure with MRI.
- Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). This newer test combines MRI imaging with sound waves to create a visual map (elastogram) of internal organs. The test is used to detect hardening of your liver that might indicate cirrhosis, similar to the way a doctor would examine (palpate) your body.
- X-rays of your bile ducts. You may need a type of bile duct X-ray called endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in addition to or instead of an MRI. To make your bile ducts visible on an X-ray, your doctor uses a flexible tube passed down your throat to inject dye into the area of your small intestine where your bile ducts empty. This test is invasive and may result in complications. With advances in MRI, it is usually not needed for diagnosis.
If the diagnosis is still uncertain, doctors may perform a liver biopsy. A small sample of liver tissue is removed and examined in a laboratory, either to confirm the diagnosis or to determine the extent (stage) of the disease. Doctors withdraw the tissue through a small incision using a thin needle.
Nov. 22, 2014
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